I finally figured out why my drawer slides kept failing after 6 months

Turns out I was using the wrong screw length for the slides on a job last spring. I was just grabbing whatever was closest from the bin and it ended up being like 5/8 inch screws when the slides called for 1/2 inch. The screw heads were protruding just enough to bind up the ball bearings inside the slide mechanism. Lost a whole Saturday replacing 12 drawers in a kitchen remodel over in Oakville because of it. Now I triple check the spec sheet every time and keep a caliper right next to my screw bin. Has anyone else run into this with undermount slides from different brands acting different?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_kim2d ago

Isn't it crazy how something as simple as a screw can ruin your whole week? @mitchell.wade your buddy's 3/4 inch screw story makes me feel a little better about my own screw-up, guess I'm not the only one who learned that lesson the hard way. Honestly, now I measure every screw like it's gonna be on the cover of a magazine just to avoid that Saturday frustration.

mitchell.wade2d ago

Man a buddy of mine had a similar thing happen but with those Blum soft close slides on a big cabinet job in 2018. He used 3/4 inch screws by accident and it pushed the drawer boxes out of alignment so bad the fronts looked crooked. Took him two full days to redo all 16 drawers and he still talks about it every time someone mentions undermount slides. I started color coding my screws with different colored dots on the bin lids after that, just so I don't mix up the lengths when I'm in a hurry.